The Auburn defense was a huge talking point this past week after their loss to the Florida Gators in week three. In week four, the Tigers' defense stepped up in the 21-15 win over Vanderbilt, the first SEC home victory for Auburn since 2024.
The Tigers gave up 311 yards on Saturday versus Vanderbilt after giving up 495 yards against Florida in week three. Auburn put a defense on the field that resembled more of the one in 2025. Last season, the Tigers gave up big yards but not a lot of points. It appeared that on Saturday the defense gave up some yards, but they kept Vanderbilt out of the red zone.
The Auburn run defense limited Vanderbilt to 112 yards on 41 carries with an average of 2.7 yards per attempt. Last week against the Gators, Auburn was
giving up 5.5 yards per attempt. Leading the way in the game was Xavier Atkins with eight tackles and three tackles for loss. Atkins also had a sack in the game.
However, there is still room for improvement on defense.
The Tigers still had issues getting off the field. They were good on third down, forcing Vanderbilt to go 4-of-17, but on fourth down the Commodores were 4-of-5. Auburn's third-down success on Saturday is a testament to the corrections made in practice after allowing Florida to convert seven opportunities in Week 3, four of which were in long situations, says defensive lineman Cody Sigler.
"I feel like third and long was a big key for us this week because last week, I mean, there were so many third downs that we were just shooting ourselves in the foot," Sigler said postgame. "This week we really executed, and we're being urgent, and trying to finish them. Third downs are where you get paid."
Auburn started the third quarter up 14-3 but allowed Vanderbilt to open the second half with points. They would narrow the margin to 14-9 due to a 14-play, 75-yard drive that took 7:53 off the clock. The possession ended with Vanderbilt running back Sedrick Alexander scoring on a three-yard run to make it 14-9. Vanderbilt would go for a two-point attempt but was unsuccessful. There were several conversions on that drive, and this Auburn defense needs to get better at getting off the field with what the Tigers have coming up on the schedule.
For the offense, it was a mixed result once again. Auburn did do some good things offensively, but it seems they could have had more success and won by a larger margin. Byrum Brown was solid, 18 of 27 for 140 yards and one touchdown. He once again had an interception in the game. Brown rushed for 57 yards on 10 carries and scored one touchdown. However, Auburn struggled again to get the running backs going. Jeremiah Cobb is yet to have a big game this season despite having the first-down carry late that sealed the victory. Auburn as a team rushed for 139 yards in the game.
The win over Vanderbilt was a much-needed victory for head coach Alex Golesh and Auburn. They needed positive momentum heading into a very tough few weeks that include road trips to Tennessee and Georgia. This team will need to continue to improve each week to snap the Tigers' streak of consecutive losing seasons.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Jordan's Review: Auburn's defense carries the load in win over Vanderbilt
